Path of Lightning: Origins

Chapter one: A fated encounter

Have you ever felt like you were born in the wrong time and place? That you belonged to somewhere faraway? That your life might have been different?

That's how she always felt. She felt it ever since she was born, and found in some dirty temple. She was in the wrong place, therefore she became associated with the wrong people.

That's what anyone would say. The outside perspective is bound to be different from the one from the inside. They would say that she was an unfortunate soul, forced to kill against her own will.

'They made you a monster.' They would say.

Perhaps that was true, and perhaps she would have been different if she never met them.

Perhaps she would have died an infant in a cold and empty temple.

"Hey Liz!"

She turned to whoever was calling her. The wind was playing with her golden hair. Her ocean blue eyes shone brighter than ever under the moonlight. She was sitting on the ruins of a building. They were on the old and abandoned side of the city, where the only souls that could be found are criminals and gangs.

The man calling for her, Jack stared at her with an annoyed expression. "We have a job to do. If you want a dinner tonight, you should start moving!" He said sternly and crossed his arms. The action lessened the movement of his old brown coat that was causing by the wind. His hair and beard were grey, with no signs of any other color, showing that he was old and probably not fit for this work, but his muscles and built form said otherwise.

Liz smiled and jumped down, then wiped off the dirt from her clothes."Don't act so grumpy! We've done this before!" She replied, then raised her palm as light surrounded it, allowing her to summon a scythe. "Just tell me where to go."

"Our job is to take care of a certain gang in the area. Never underestimate your enemies, there is always someone out there who is stronger than you." The man answered, hoping that his words of wisdom would reach his apprentice, but unfortunately, that hope was crushed as a young man entered the scene, swinging a hat in his hand.

"Dude, she's a beast. I don't think anyone could beat her." Romeo walked towards them, swinging his bowler hat with his finger. "Besides, we're a good team." He smiled and put the black hat on his orange wild hair. His clothes matched his laid back attitude and need to show off.

The black hat with the red string matched his black top and white shirt covering it, and for some reason, he was wearing a red tie that was loosened and was out of place, but still matched the overall black and red theme.

The leader scoffed and walked away, mentioning for them to follow. His two apprentices glanced at each other and smiled, mimicking their leader's 'serious' behavior.

They were a small mercenary group.

But that group was everything she ever had.

Jack was the leader, and despite not having Penergy like them, he was a capable fighter. He always carries small knives with him that he would use for close combat, but mostly, he would aim them at his enemies, and he rarely misses his target. Romeo on the other hand, was a master of stealth. He had the ability to use his own shadow for hiding and creating copies with it for distractions.

Liz was able to change her scythe into multiple weapons. She could add any melee weapon she touches into her summoning collection.

They were a well balanced group in terms of abilities.

After walking for a good amount of time through the city, they made it to the gang's hideout. The streets were empty and there were no lights on. The blonde leaned forward and squinted, trying to make out something from her dark surroundings.